吞
tūn
To swallow in Chinese is expressed by 吞 (tūn). Wiktionary also lists 咽 (yàn) and 吞嚥 / 吞咽 (tūnyàn).
Meaning: to cause to pass from the mouth into the stomach (verb)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 吞 | tūn |
| 咽 | yàn |
| 吞嚥 / 吞咽 | tūnyàn |
The verb refers to the action of causing something to pass from the mouth into the stomach.
Which one should you use?
吞 (tūn) often carries a connotation of swallowing something large, gulping or swallowing whole. In contrast, 咽 (yàn) is the more neutral, physiological term for the act of swallowing.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the word for 'swallow' can be expressed as 吞 (tan1).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the inability to swallow something because it is too large or difficult to pass, use the potential complement 咽不下 (yàn bù xià).
How do you pronounce it?
tūn
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, the phrase 吞下去 can be used metaphorically to mean 'swallowing' one's anger or pride to avoid conflict.
- The word 吞 is linguistically related to the Tibetan word འཐུང and the Lepcha word ᰋᰩᰵ, both of which mean 'to drink'.
- The character 咽 is actually a simplified form of the more complex character 嚥.
Examples in context
- 不喝水我咽不下这些药片。I can't swallow these tablets without a drink of water.This sentence shows how to use 咽 to express difficulty swallowing tablets.Tatoeba #1964250 by bigfatpanda, translation #270737 by CK
- 吞下吧！Swallow!This sentence uses 吞 as an imperative command to swallow.Tatoeba #10194149 by iiujik, translation #8905749 by Mario8286
- 我喜欢把食物咽下去。I enjoy swallowing food.
Example conversation
Wei is helping Jiayi take medicine.
- 伟 Wei佳怡，把这颗药吞下去。Jiāyí, bǎ zhè kē yào tūn xiàqù.Jiayi, swallow this pill.
- 佳怡 Jiayi它太大了，我很难吞。Tā tài dà le, wǒ hěn nán tūn.It is too big, it's hard to swallow.
- 伟 Wei喝口水再试试看。Hē kǒu shuǐ zài shìshì kàn.Take a sip of water and try again.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好，现在我吞下去了。Hǎo, xiànzài wǒ tūn xiàqù le.Okay, I've swallowed it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “swallow” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 吞, 咽, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
